Aristocrat, literary celebrity, ` Rose Queen`, devoted wife, lesbian, recluse, iconoclast
- Vita Sackville-West was many
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` National treasure? I hate that. Too dusty, too in a cupboard, too behind glass, too staid.. . What I love is being part of a company. On stage I am not trying to be myself, I`m trying to be someone else, the more unlike me the better.` From her first theatrical roles as a teenager in York to her commanding performances as `M` in the James Bond films, Dame Judi Dench`s professional life has consisted of non-stop acting, leading to numerous accolades, including an Academy Award. BEHIND THE SCENES is a fully updated & expanded edition of Dame Judi`s first photograph album SCENES FROM MY LIFE, published in 2005. It is a uniquely personal take on her life & brilliant career, showing her off stage as well as on: in the wings, off sets, in dressing rooms & happily larking about. Beautifully illustrated with photographs from her own collections, here are reflections & reminiscences on those who have mattered to her most
- her family, fellow actors, directors & writers
- communicated with the truth & insight of her acting.

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Ruby Lennox was conceived grudgingly by Bunty & born while her father, George, was in the Dog & Hare in Doncaster telling a woman in an emerald dress & a D-cup that he wasn`t married. Bunty had never wanted to marry George, but here she was, stuck in a flat above the pet shop in an ancient street beneath York Minster, with sensible & sardonic Patrica aged five, greedy cross-patch Gillian who refused to be ignored, & Ruby... Ruby tells the story of The Family, from the day at the end of the nineteenth century when a travelling French photographer catches frail beautiful Alice & her children, like flowers in amber, to the startling, witty, & memorable events of Ruby`s own life. ...

`I am fascinated by people turning their daft dreams into a reality. How did they do it & why?` Driven by his own passion for collecting Hunter Davies has packed his notepad & set off in search of Britain`s maddest museums. As he explores these hidden gems he soon discovers that they are everywhere & that they celebrate just about everything, from lawnmowers in Southport to pencils in Keswick. But as Hunter travels up & down the country he comes to realise that it isn`t only the collections that are fascinating, it`s also the people who have put them together. Whether they`re a man who loves his Heinz so much he`s changed his name to Captain Beany or a kleptomaniac Vintage Radio buff, these eccentric collectors are Britain`s finest & could live in no other country in the world. Once you discover these museums & get to know their curators, Great Britain won`t look quite the same again... ...

Behind the Throne is a history of family life. The families concerned were royal families. But they still had to get up in the morning. They ate & entertained their friends & worried about money. Henry VIII kept tripping over his dogs. George II threw his son out of the house. James I had to cut back on the drink bills. The great difference is that royal families had more help with their lives than most. Charles I maintained a household of 2, 000 people. Victoria`s medical establishment alone consisted of thirty doctors, three dentists & a chiropodist. Even in today`s more democratic climate, Elizabeth II keeps a full-time staff of 1, 200. A royal household was a community, a vast machine. Everyone, from James I`s Master of the Horse down to William IV`s Assistant Table Decker, was there to smooth the sovereign`s path through life while simultaneously confirming his or her status. Behind the Throne uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking the reader on a remarkable journey from one Queen Elizabeth to another & exploring life as it was lived by clerks & courtiers & clowns & crowned heads: the power struggles & petty rivalries, the tension between duty & desire; the practicalities of cooking dinner for thousands, or ensuring the king always won when he played a game of tennis. Behind the Throne is nothing less than a domestic history of the royal household, a reconstruction of life behind the throne. Readers go on progress with Elizabeth I as she takes her court & her majesty to her subjects. They dance the conga round the state rooms of Buckingham Palace with George VI. They find out what it was like to dine with queens, & walk with kings. ...

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR A powerful & timely story of marriage, class, race & the pursuit of the American Dream. Behold the Dreamers is a dazzling debut novel about life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness
- & of what we`re prepared to sacrifice to hold on to each of them. ` We all do what we gotta do to become American, abi?` New York, 2007: a city of dreamers & strivers, where the newly-arrived & the long-established jostle alike for a place on the ladder of success. & Jende Jonga, who has come from Cameroon, has just set his foot on the first rung. Clark Edwards is a senior partner at Lehman Brothers bank. In need of a discrete & reliable chauffeur, he is too preoccupied to closely check the paperwork of his latest employee. Jende`s new job draws him, his wife Neni & their young son into the privileged orbit of the city`s financial elite. & when Clark`s wife Cindy offers Neni work & takes her into her confidence, the couple begin to believe that the land of opportunity might finally be opening up for them. But there are troubling cracks in their employers` facades, & when the deep fault lines running beneath the financial world are exposed, the Edwards` secrets threaten to spill out into the Jonga`s lives. Faced with the loss of all they have worked for, each couple must decide how far they will go in pursuit of their dreams
- & what they are prepared to sacrifice along the way. ` There are no heroes in this marvellous debut, only nuanced human beings. A classic tale with a surprise ending, as deeply insightful as it is delightfully entertaining` Taiye Selasi ` Imbolo Mbue would be a formidable storyteller anywhere, in any language. It`s our good luck that she & her stories are American` Jonathan Franzen ` Eerily timely.. .bittersweet & buoyant` Jessie Burton, Observer Books of the Year

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WINNER OF THE 2017 PEN/FAULKNER AWARD A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB PICK `A formidable storyteller` Jonathan Franzen ` Savage & compassionate in all the right places` New York Times Book Review ` Eerily timely.. . bittersweet & buoyant` Jessie Burton New York, 2007. After two long years apart, Jende Jonga has brought his wife Neni from Cameroon to join him in the land of opportunity. Drawn by the promise of America they are seeking the chance of a better life for them & their son. When Jende lands a dream job as chauffeur to a Lehman Brothers executive, Neni finds herself taken into the confidence of his glamorous wife Cindy. The Edwards are powerful & privileged: dazzling examples of what America can offer to those who are prepared to strive for it. But when the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, all four lives are dramatically upended. As faultlines appear in both marriages & secrets bubble to the surface they must all decide how far they will go in pursuit of their dreams. & what will they sacrifice along the way? `A marvellous debut... as deeply insightful as it is delightfully entertaining` Taiye Selasi ...

What does America stand for in the twenty-first century? Behold, America confronts this urgent question by looking at the story behind two of the most contentious phrases in the American political playbook: the ` American dream` & ` America first`. What do these phrases tell us about America`s idea of itself? What does it mean to put America first, & what exactly are Americans supposed to be dreaming of
- personal wealth, public power, racial equality, political refuge, individual freedoms? What happens when these values collide? ` America first` & the ` American dream` were born nearly a century ago & instantly tangled over capitalism, democracy & race. Invoked most recently in Donald Trump`s presidential campaign, they came to embody opposing views in the battle to define the soul of the nation. Behold, America recounts the unknown history of these two expressions using the voices that helped shape that debate, from Capitol Hill to the newsroom of the New York Times, students to senators, dreamers to dissenters. As America struggles again to project a shared vision, to itself & to the world, Sarah Churchwell argues that the meanings & history of these terms need to be understood afresh so that the true spirit of America can be reclaimed. Insightful & revelatory, Behold, America overturns everything we thought we knew about the American dream, America first & the battle for the identity of modern America.
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In this accordion-pleat style folded illustrated poster you will find over 100 dinosaurs with information on their length, where they were found & in which era they lived. The vivid & refined illustrations by Dustin Harbin make this concertina really special. Flip the pages as a book, display it on a mantelpiece or hang it on the wall to have a truly striking poster! ...

The Freytag & Berndt Beijing city plan is a very clear indexed street map of central Beijing at 1:15, 000 with all key sights shown, covering an area Approx. 18km (west-east) by 13km (north to south), centred around Nanhai Lake & Tiananmen Square. This incorporates the 3rd Ring Road with National Expressway connections, with the primary 2008 Olympics sites just off the Northern edge. Ideal for tourism or business travel in the city centre. Motorway, dual carriageways, primary & secondary roads & pedestrian thoroughfares are clearly shown, & major road junctions are given some detail. One-way streets are marked. Major sights, principal official buildings, parks, theatres & museums are clearly highlighted & named. Symbols show other tourist & travel information, such as police stations, hospitals, tourist information centers, post offices & youth hostels. City metro & rail transport routes & stations are also shown clearly. ...